The Popularity of Birria

A classic Mexican dish is once again being embraced by the US. Birria, a kind of stew is being embraced by  - well - everyone . This blend of meats , veggies and chilis is coming into its' own, in a variety of ways. There are birria pizzas and fries along with fries and even in pho and tortellinis. Yet, the original recipe is the best.

Tejal Rao wrote about this in today's New York Times Food section. Birria is a classic Mexican pot dinner first written about in 1945 by Josefina Velazquez de Leon  a cookbook writer who traveled through Mexico. It was recorded in a Mexican cookbook, Platillos Regionale de la Republoca Mexicana. Thar recipe called for a whole sheep to be rubbed with a paste of lightly roasted ancho peppers cascabel, a small round pepper and seasoned with cinnamon, cumin and oregano.It draws from Indigenous pre-Columbian cooking rituals.The sheep is put into a pot sealed with masa or corn meal, then tucked into a fire pit to cook slowly like barbecoa.It' was served in bowls with a dribble of tomato salsa and some of the cooking sauces . This included the rendered animal fat, and the pot liquor known as consome. The present day version splits off into variations. There's one made with oxtails , and one made vegetarian with the addition of mushrooms. You could also use goat or lamb too , along with beef shoulder as the accompanying recipe suggests.

The recipe is being a ht with younger generations. Before it was thought of as an older person's dish  according to chef Teddy Vazquez who almost turned down a cooking job in Tiajuana. It was considered either a hangover cure, something to eat with the parents and grandparents on Sunday after church. He updated , went back to Los Angeles and started to sell birria taco to factory workers. He recalibrated the spices and got excited by the consome and the crunch of the tortilla cooked up in the rendered fat. So did his customers. He went from one truck to fifty , selling combo plates of tacos,quesadillas , tostadas and mulitas, a kind of grilled cheese with meat and a cup of the consome.He's even thinking of making a ramen with the birria, He's thinking of serving it when the customers get tired of the regular which won't happen soon. Josef Centanao owner and chef of Los Angeles' Bar Ama has created a vegetarian version. He does cook other versions that include beef chicken , llamb and even tofu. His other meatless version has mushrooms which gives the stew an eartiher flavor. He adds ginger too for zing to spike up the taste . Other chefs add vinegar and different spices. It's a creative way  of claiming it as your own.

BIrria is being embraced by everyone. It's no wonder. It's a flavorful bowl of meat  or veggies and spices that is perfect on its' own or in tacos or quesdadillas.